Pianist's Village

"Who is Kim Kwang-seok?"

"Kim Kwang-seok? You're too young. Perhaps you don't know him. He's a brilliant musician born in Korea! It would be good for young people nowadays to know him."

'Judging by how much the old man praises him, he must be a world-renowned violinist.' 'Would someone like that have a lot of music? Surely there are some songs arranged for piano. I should definitely look for them.'

Soo-hyun bowed.

"Thank you for your answer, sir."

The old man waved his hand at Soo-hyun's polite demeanor.

"No, my goodness, how polite you are. I don't know who your parents are, but they made sure to educate you well. Well, go home and listen to many songs by Kim Kwang-seok, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

The old man smiled and, as if he was about to stop playing, put a few thousand-won bills in his pocket and put his violin back in its case.

Soo-hyun, who had been observing the scene in silence, finally looked closely at the old man.

'An old, worn-out sweater. Looking closely, he could see it had some holes and tears. His pants were also stained with something that looked like yellow mud, as if he had been walking through something. His shoes were similar. He must be poor.' 'But can a poor person make music?'

Uncle Frederick's words echoed in Soo-hyun's head.

'In our time, only those from wealthy families could become musicians. There might have been musicians whose families fell on hard times after they started playing, but there were no musicians who were poor from the beginning. That was because you had to pay a high price to get a good teacher. But I don't know what's happening now.'

Perhaps things are different now than when the old men lived there.

'But the audience I saw in Poland seemed wealthy. Was it only like that there?'

The violinist on the street stood in front of a traffic light with his violin bag on his back, and then turned his gaze to Soo-hyun, who was still looking at him.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"...."

'Is it hard to ask questions?'

When Soo-hyun hesitated, the old man smiled kindly.

"It's okay, ask. It's polite, so I'll answer before the pedestrian crossing signal rings."

"Are you poor, sir?"

'It's a rude question that comes out of nowhere. It's different from before.'

The old man hesitated for a moment, but then he looked into Soo-hyun's clear, innocent eyes and understood that it was a question without ill intent. He sighed slightly and nodded.

"Yes. I am poor."

"Can you make music even if you're poor?"

"Of course. Even though I didn't receive a proper education."

'I guess not getting a proper education is the same now as it was in the past.'

Soo-hyun nodded and asked again.

"Can you be happy even if you're poor?"

"...?"

The old man looked at Soo-hyun as if he wanted to ask what he was talking about. This time, Soo-hyun asked the question with clear eyes and a serious expression, awaiting an answer.

At that moment, the blue light turned on at the signal the man had been waiting for.

"Well, I have to go. Go with your mom quickly."

'The old man's back is seen walking away.' 'Did I ask the wrong question? If so, I owe you an apology.' 'But I wondered, did I do something wrong?'

Soo-hyun's legs, lost in thought, moved without him knowing, following the old man.

The old man, who kept looking back, started walking quickly.

"Sir? Please answer me. If I did something wrong, I apologize. But could you still answer me?"

As the old man's steps got faster, Soo-hyun's steps also got faster.

The old man who saw the blue bus coming quickly boarded and walked to the back seat.

'What a strange child. He doesn't seem to have bad intentions, but why does he ask questions?' 'I feel a little bad. But today is the day to play the music I like. If I feel this bad, I'm the only one who's going to lose.'

The bus driver's shout was heard behind the old man who was deliberately humming a melody and moving to the back seat.

"Hey, sir!"

'I don't know if it's me or not, but as soon as someone calls behind me, I turn around.'

Then the bus driver yelled.

"The son has to pay too!"

'Son? What son? I don't have a son.'

Soo-hyun was right behind him, with a questioning expression on his face.

"Oh! You, you... Hey, get down. Where has Mom gone?"

"I don't have a mom."

"What about Dad?"

"I don't have a dad either."

"What does that mean?"

Now that he thought about it, he did seem a bit big to be holding his mother's hand. He had a young face, but he was quite tall.

The bus driver got angry as he looked at Soo-hyun for a moment.

"Hey! Don't you see I'm waiting for another customer?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Hey, you pay."

Soo-hyun searched his pockets.

"I don't have any money."

"Oh my God, this is driving me crazy."

'I see the bus driver staring at me.'

Finally, the man who had put his hand in his pockets and paid the money passed by Soo-hyun and said.

"Pay me later, I live paycheck to paycheck."

The old man didn't ask for his number and simply went to the back seat, as if he had no intention of taking the call.

Soo-hyun, who had been quietly observing him, sat down beside him.

The old man got annoyed when Soo-hyun didn't even think about leaving him.

"Oh, why again! I paid you! Where are you going?"

"Where the old man gets off."

"Ugh! Why the hell is this guy doing this? Let's see how far he goes."

The old man turned his head towards the window and crossed his arms. At the same time, a vibration resonated in Soo-hyun's arms.

Kim Ji-ye's name appeared on the screen.

'Ah, I forgot about you, Sister.'

"Hello."

"Soo-hyun! Where are you? Are you okay? Where are you now? I'm coming."

"I don't know where."

"Ahhh! If you look around and see a big building, could you read me the sign?"

Kim Ji-ye shouted in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Sister."

"No, I'll go get you. Where are you?"

"It's a bus."

"[... ... Did you take the bus?]"

Soo-hyun explained the situation.

'The old man, who pretended not to hear but listened, heard everything Soo-hyun said.'

"So I asked out of curiosity, but the old man seemed angry. I had to apologize and ask him some questions, so I followed him and ended up getting on the bus. I'll tell you where it is when I get off, little sister. Yes, yes, yes. I'll call you. Sorry for the trouble."

After Soo-hyun sighed and put the phone in his pocket, he raised his head and felt the old man's gaze on him.

The old man, who was looking out the window as if he didn't even want to make eye contact, asked in a slightly softened voice.

"Were you trying to apologize?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you apologize and go back?"

'I was curious. I'm sorry, but I was curious and really wanted to hear the answer.' 'Is he too innocent? It's an action I can't understand at all.'

But in the child's eyes, one could see the determination to definitely hear the answer.

"What's your name?"

"This is Nam Soo-hyun."

"Uncle... I've heard that name somewhere. Are you famous?"

A man he never dreamed of seeing on the news spoke with a look of understanding.

"I'm Choi Young-hoo."

"Yes, Mr. Choi Young-hoo. Nice to meet you."

"Ugh...."

'Is this child polite or not?' 'A while ago, he sat down, put his hand on his stomach, bowed at the waist, and said he was glad to see me. Is he a child raised in a place like Cheonghak-dong?'

Young-hoo said, pointing to the pocket where Soo-hyun's cell phone was.

"That woman just said she was my older sister. Is she your real sister?"

"No."

"Well, that's not the kind of speech you'd use for your own older sister. Is that why that woman came to pick you up?"

"Yes. Sir, if you tell me where to get off, I'll go pick you up."

"Hmm."

Young-hoo, who thought he didn't have to worry too much since a guardian would come pick him up, took out a cassette player that looked very old.

For the current generation, who use cell phones and MP3 players, this seems like an antique.

Young-hoo said, holding a headphone with the paint completely peeled off.

"Do you want to listen to it?"

"What is it?"

"Kim Kwang-seok."

'My heart beats fast. I wondered how I could contain my curiosity about the unknown composer until I got home, but everything worked out.'

Soo-hyun quickly took the headphones, but he didn't know how to use them, so he stared at Young-hoo, then followed his example and put them on his ears.

After a long rustling sound like rain, the music began to play, and Soo-hyun tilted his head and looked at Young-hoo.

Young-hoo nodded slightly as he listened to the music and asked.

"Isn't it good?"

"It's different from the previous music."

"That's the song from before."

"It was a violin piece."

"Oh, this song was played on the violin."

Now that he thought about it, the melody was the same. But it sounded like a completely different instrument.

Soo-hyun said, suddenly losing interest.

"Is there any song for violin?"

"Huh? Since I'm a pop musician, there isn't one. Oh, it's not that there isn't one. Sometimes, there's a violin sound in the middle."

Young-hoo asked again after seeing Soo-hyun's disappointed expression.

"Why? What kind of music do you like?"

"Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Clementi."

"Ah... You like classical music? How strange!"

'Classical? Classical? What does that mean? The old men never told me that story.'

"What is classical music?"

"What you just said."

"Is the music of the composers I just mentioned classical?"

"Don't call me that."

"What about Kim Kwang-seok?"

"It's called popular music."

Soo-hyun looked confused. It was different from what the men had told him.

'The old men said their music was popular music.'

Young-hoo snapped his fingers when he realized something while telling Soo-hyun a story.

"Oh, right. Before, that kind of music was considered popular. Now it's called classical music. It's different from the current style."

"Ah...."

'That's right. Well, the time when the old men lived was a long time ago.'

"So, will today's music also become classical music over time?"

"Well, I guess so. Because music from the 60s is called oldies. Of course, it's not a genre that can be called classical."

It was a vague answer, but he understood it. At that moment, Young-hoo rang the bell.

"I'm getting off here. Follow me."

Soo-hyun watched the bell Young-hoo pressed for a long time.

'I remember seeing my mother push that down when I was little.'

When Young-hoo, who got off first, gestured, Soo-hyun quickly followed him and saw a small village of small, old, worn-out villas and houses with wooden roofs stretching up the hillside to the top of the mountain.

Young-hoo smiled as he adjusted his violin case again.

"You asked me: 'Can you be happy even if you're poor?'"

"Yes."

Young-hoo asked first as they walked down the narrow alley between the buildings on the steep road.

"You'll know when you see it. You have to see it yourself to know. Are you okay? How are your parents? Are you going out with your older sister?"

"My parents are not here."

"...."

'Did what I said before really mean that he was an orphan?'

Young-hoo's expression hardened.

"Hey, are you back already?"

"Yes."

Young-hoo stopped due to Soo-hyun's indifferent reply.

Young-hoo, who had been looking at Soo-hyun for a moment, coughed in vain.

"It's okay, I'm sorry."

"What is it?"

"Anyway, I'm sorry."

'What are you sorry for? It's not like you caused the accident. It's strange.'

Young-hoo continued to cough in vain as he spoke.

"Ahem, let's go up. Oh, before that, call that older sister. She'll be worried."

"Yes, Mr. Young-hoo."

Soo-hyun, who was approaching and making a phone call, looked at Young-hoo and asked.

"But where should I say this is?"

Young-hoo, who was walking ahead, looked back and said.

"Baeksa Village, Nowon-gu."